George e b u r t



No. 68,950. Patented S ept.17, I867.

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one no E E n u RT. or HA R AR-1); MAS sh oH-UsET'rsQ 1 Letters Putent No. 68,95o,'dated September I7, 1865'. I l v inrnovnmnrrm House-Imus. f

01h tl3 tbul nfrmh in in th s: gittrtsjfinttnt mumnliiug part at llgc same; l

TO ALL WHOM IT'MAY CONCERN: f 4 i Be it ltn'own that I, GEORGE E. BURT, of I-Inrvaril, in the coiznty of Worcester, in the State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in ,IIorse Hay-Rakes; and I- do hereby declai'e that the following-is a full :ind exact description thereof, reference being hail to the accompanying-drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon. I

'Like letters represent {like parts in allthe figures.

Figure 1 is a side vertical pro ection, onaplane passing between the shafts and the wheel, showing the position of the several parts when inpcsition to rake. V V i Figure 2 is a sidc vertical projection on the same plane as fig 1, showing the position ofthe parts when the rake is elevated to discharge thehay." v i p Figure 3 is-a rear view of the rake. l l l Figure 4 is anisometric view, showing the method of attaching the teeth into the axle 0 V i The nature-of my invention consists in constructing a sclf-regulatinghorse rake, so arranged that'the draught of the horse" in propelling the rake shaILin conjiinction with the "operators weight, hold the teeth of thc rake down, and gradually increase the downward pressure in proportion to the accumulation 0511113 3 front of the teeth, and enabling thoopeiiatorto adjustthe' pressure on the teeth when; orlight erops,"avoidingl in a great measure the scratching up of the soil, as in a commonly-coiis'tructe'd wire-toothrs-he. l

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention. I will proceed to describe its construction and operation. v h

l I construct this rake with wire teeth, and mount it on wheels in'the usual manner,but I attach to the axle O downward projecting arms F F, in fig. 1, in which I makp two or more sets of holes, E E, or a slot, considerably below the axle 0. To either set of the holes I attach the shafts D D.. For a light crop I use the upper set of holes, but for a heavy crop I lower the shafts on the arms F F until the downward force on the teeth m is s'uflieient to rake the hay. Also, to thc axle O I attach the upward projecting arms J J, which are provided with 'two or more sets of holes, shown'in figs. 1 and 2 and 3, to which I pivot connecting arms 0 G, which are also pivoted to the seat arms BB,- shown in fig; 1, by the pivots a a, The seat arms B3 are pivoted to the cross-bar w by the pivot c, which is secured to the shafts thus by means of the cross-bar. The arms G and B are both provided with two or more sets of holes, a a and 1- r. E is a lever, and is pivoted to the cross-barre by the pivot c. H is a connecting arm, one end of which is pivoted to the lever-E by the pivot h, and the other end is pivoted to the arm .I'by the pivot d; L is a treadle, attached to the leverE,.-as shown j in fig. 3. I con-- struct the axle O with seats to receive the teeth m m m. To the axle O I firmly attach the clamp I, provided" with slots 8 s, shown in all the figures. The teeth m m are made with a coil, in the-usual manner, button the shank of the tooth m construct the start n, which is made by bending a portion of the shank at nearly a right angle with the remaining portion of the shank, and both shank and start are embedded into the axle O, and. fixed rigidly to the axle in their positions by the clamp I, which is secured firmly to the axle by the screws qq,

shown in figs. 1 and The slots s R R operate as guides for the teeth m m 111, shown in figs. i 3, and 1.

Operation.

The operator being in his sent, his weight rests on the pivots a a, and the arms 0 and B forming an obtuseangle, the operators weight acts powerfully to spread the anglc'and force the shafts D'forwards, which, being pivoted to the downwardprojecting arms F F, tends to' turn the axle O backward and hold the teeth m down. The same force is also exerted upon the arm J, which is pivoted to the arm 0, which also acts 'to force the arm: J backward, and also hold the rake down: Thus it will be seen that the operator's weight aets with a double force both above and below the axle) to hold the rakedo wn. This-force may be regulated for the various:

weights of different operators by increasing or diminishing the angle formed by the arms 13 and C by means of the different holes in the arms. It will readily be seen, when the horse is'attuehed to the shafts D and moves forward to draw the rake, the shafts being pivoted to the arms F F at a considerable distance below the axle, that the power exerted by the horse to propel the rake will tend to draw the arms F F forward. This the whole force of the draught of the horse will tend to turn the axle over backward in thezwheels, which will-hold theteeth 1am firmly down. As the hay accumulates in front ,of-the teeth, the teeth will spring baclg thus allowing the axle to turn backward, and the angle between the arms 13 and C is increased, and thus the weight of the operator acts with more force on the arms J and F. The horse now exerts more force to draw the rake, which force, acting on the arms F, acts in conjnnctio n with the increased force of the operator, and-hears the teeth down just in proportion as the hay accumulates, thus adjusting itself to large or small windrows. If the hay is moist or theerop very heavy, the lower set of holes may he SD11, thus increasing the downward pressure on the .teeth to any degree required, operating'with equal pressure on tho-teeth, and iwoirling unnecessary pressure at all times, and avoiding in a great measure the objection to spring teeth, of scratching up the soil, injuring the grass roots, and damaging the hay by the dust eolleetecl with it To discharge the rake, the operntor draws the lever E towards him. This turns the axle forward in the wheels, and the ends of the teeth 1:; mm are elevated above the axle O, and a free discharge is effected, (shown in fig. 2,) The slets s s in the clamp I assist in holding the teeth on m in position when the rake is being turned, with the teeth resting on the ground,

' but allow them to spring upward. to pass obstructions. The start it holtls the coil of the tooth firmly in its osition. The olamp'Ifixes the teeth rigidly to the .axleO. If the horse should become unmanageahle tho driver may place his foot against the treadle to steady himself in his seat, and this assist him to manage the horse. V

' WhatI claim as my invention, and wish to secure by Lettcrsfatent, is-

1. In combination with the teeth an, axle O, anrl=arn1 J, a toggle-joint, formed by the lovers 0 and I3, iIGlZOkl upon by the neight of the driver riding upon a. seat, resting upon the jointin'snch manner that as the teeth are drawn back the toggle-joint shall be straightened, null the weight of the driver be made to-act upon the teeth with a eorrespondingly-increased downward pressure, substantially as set forth.

'2. The combination of the shafts D, arm F, levers H, E, B, and 0, arm), and axle O, substantially as set forth. v I

The combination of the teeth m,the axle 0,;and clamp I, when respectively constructed and arranged substantially asset forth.

4. The combination of the shafts D, arm F, axle O, and teeth '11:, substantially as-set forth.

5. The arm J on one side of theaxle, in combination with the arm F on the other side thereof, when 6011- mated with the shafts D, one directly and the other through ,interinediatc levers II and Em C and B, so

I orranged'thet the drought upon one and pressure against the other arm shall unite to turn the angle towards and hold down the'teeth, snhstahtiolly as set forth.

GEORGE E. BURT.

Witnesses:

E A. HILDRETII, J. L. B omass. 

